Our Mystery Worshippers are volunteers who warm church pews for us around the world. If you'd like to become a Mystery Worshipper, start here.

Find out how to reproduce this report in your church magazine or website.

1550: St Mary
the Virgin, New York City

Mystery Worshipper:
XIV Century.The church:St Mary the
Virgin, New York City.Denomination:
The Episcopal Church, Diocese
of New York.The building:
Almost buried among office buildings and hotels in the middle
of Times Square, the Gothic facade is quite lovely once you
isolate it. The exterior seems somewhat of the French Gothic
style to my untrained eyes, and the interior is more Italianate.
The church is worth a visit, even if only to feast upon the
glorious interior, including the east facing marble altar, the
blue painted ceiling with gold stars, and the exquisite stations
of the cross, to name but a few items.The church:
The sense one gets of the community is that they live out the
best of Anglo-Catholicism, that is taking the sacrament which
they receive at mass into the world. My experience of them is
that they are a friendly bunch.The neighborhood:
The Times Square location provides an amazing opportunity for
St Mary's. While I was standing outside before the solemn mass
began, I could observe the earlier high mass still in progress
at the high altar. I lost track of the number of people who
stopped as a result of hearing the music, or catching a glimpse
of the glittering interior. At least half of them went inside
the church as a result. One lady was heard to remark, "We don't
have anything like this in Iowa."The cast:
The Revd Stephen Garth, rector, was the celebrant and preacher,
assisted by the Revd Matthew Mead and the Revd James Ross Smith,
curates. The date & time:
Sunday, October 7, 2007, 11.00am.

What was the name of the service?
Solemn Mass.

How full was the building?
About half full. This was Columbus Day weekend, and the temperature
was 20 degrees above normal. There was also a parade taking
place in the city that day.

Did anyone welcome you personally?
A friendly greeting from the usher who handed me the solemn
mass booklet and said, "Welcome to St Mary's."

Was your pew comfortable?
The pew was comfortable, but the individual style kneelers were
a bit hard to maneuver from. Once I was down, I was down!

How would you describe the pre-service
atmosphere?
Quiet and reverential, with a European sort of feel. There were
all sorts of people present: those of us gathering for the mass,
others quietly walking about pausing at various shrines to light
candles or stopping in one of the chapels, ladies with their
heads covered touching the feet of one of the statues of the
Blessed Mother, a backpacker kneeling in prayer before continuing
his journey. I also noticed a few homeless people resting in
the back pews, which was quite touching. It's nice to see the
church being something more than a museum during the week and
a one-hour show on Sunday. The organist offered a prelude, during
which a sexton polished the brass altar rail (see below).

What were the exact opening
words of the service?
The choir – which I believe had been dropped into place
from heaven – chanted: "In voluntate tua, Domine,
universa sunt posita, et non eat qui possit resistere voluntati
tuae." (All things, O Lord, are in your power, and
no one can resist your will.) The celebrant then intoned: "Blessed
be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

What books did the congregation
use during the service?
The 1979 Prayer Book and 1982 Hymnal were
in the pews, but everything we needed was contained in the service
booklet.

What musical instruments were played?
An exceptional pipe organ, played masterfully by associate organist
Robert McDermitt.

Did anything distract you?
It was somewhat amusing and charming, but also distracting,
to watch the young sexton polish the altar rail during the organist's
prelude. As the music progressed, he sped up his polishing action
faster and faster so as to end with the music. To his credit,
the last wipe occurred with the last note, and he did do a fine
job.

Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or
what?
High Anglo-Catholic worship in the best sense. Smells, bells,
beautiful vestments, genuflections aplenty, a well-rehearsed
acolyte team, and all of it done without a trace of self-consciousness.
The asperges preceded the mass, but the angelus was not prayed
(surprising, I thought, in a church dedicated to Our Lady).
No birettas, no bows except at the name of Jesus. Don't get
me wrong – it was a magnificent ceremony, but I just couldn't
discern why certain things were included and others omitted.

Exactly how long was the sermon?
13 minutes.

On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
7  Father Gerth is immediately likable. I would describe
him as an evangelical Catholic. He seems so filled with love
for Our Lord and for the Bible. He sometimes veered off topic,
though, if only for a moment.

In a nutshell, what was the sermon
about?
Jesus, in the gospel, did not respond to the disciples' request
to increase their faith. Perhaps this was because Jesus needed
to die and be raised again in order to bestow this gift on the
disciples. My understanding from this sermon is that it was
only after the resurrection that Jesus fully grasped his divinity
and his humanity.

Which part of the service was like being in
heaven?
Where to begin. The music, both sung and played, and the liturgy
itself would certainly vie for first place. I would have to
select a point during the offertory hymn. As the altar was being
censed, we sang: "This is none other than the gate of heaven..."
It was as if I was hearing those words for the first time. This
is indeed the gate of heaven! The censing was done
to perfect choreography, with the servers all turning in absolute
unison to face the thurifer as he passed between the torch-bearing
acolytes. Toward the end of the hymn, the organist improvised
a brief passage that could have raised the dead, it was so stirring.
I get goose bumps just thinking about it now.

And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
Charm and amusement notwithstanding, was it really necessary
to polish the altar rail just seconds before the entrance procession?

What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
One of the sides of the church literally opens into the parish
hall, and we all headed over. Within a couple of minutes, a
few people had come over to greet me and welcome me. Lovely.

How would you describe the after-service
coffee?
Cakes and cookies, decent coffee in paper cups, and some open
face sandwiches.

How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
10  I wish I lived closer. It's so wonderful to find a
church that can carry off that level of liturgy with a sense
of ease and deep meaning.

Did the service make you feel glad to be a
Christian?
Absolutely.

What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
The beautiful sight of so many diverse people gathering and
reverently walking about while the organist played the prelude.

We rely on voluntary donations to stay online. If you're a regular visitor to Ship of Fools, please consider supporting us.

The Mystery Pilgrim

One of our most seasoned reporters makes the Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Read here.

London churches

Read reports from 70 London churches, visited by a small army of Mystery Worshippers on one single Sunday. Read here.